NREL is a national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy

Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy

Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC

This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy

Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308

Liquid-Liquid Separation 

Process

Cooperative Research and 

Development Final Report

CRADA Number: CRD-09-362

NREL Technical Contact: Dan Schell

CRADA Report

NREL/TP-5100-62115

June 2014
NOTICE

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Cover Photos: (left to right) photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 16416, photo from SunEdison, NREL 17423, photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 

16560, photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL 17613, photo by Dean Armstrong, NREL 17436, photo by Pat Corkery, NREL 17721.

 Printed on paper containing at least 50% wastepaper, including 10% post consumer waste. 
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This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Cooperative Research and Development Final Report

In accordance with Requirements set forth in Article XI.A(3) of the CRADA document, this document is 

the final CRADA report, including a list of Subject Inventions, to be forwarded to the Office of Science 

and Technical Information as part of the commitment to the public to demonstrate results of federally 

funded research.

CRADA Number: CRD-09-362

CRADA Title: Liquid-Liquid Separation Process

Parties to the Agreement: 3M Company

Joint Work Statement Funding Table Showing DOE Commitment: 

Estimated Costs NREL Shared Resources

Year 1 $ 75,000.00

Year 2 $ 105,000.00

Year 3 $ -30,000.00

TOTALS $ 150,000.00

Abstract of CRADA Work: 

The 3M Company, in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and 

others, will develop the concept of the membrane solvent-extraction (MSE) technology for water 

removal and verify the technology at a pilot scale for bio-ethanol production to increase energy and 

water savings.

Summary of Research Results: 

An initial AspenPlus model of the membrane extraction distillation process was originally developed by 

3M to perform techno-economic analysis. NREL expanded the original AspenPlus model to include pilotscale fermentation and MSE technology. Where possible, experimental data collected from the pilot plant 

was included in this AspenPlus model.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) previously developed a technoeconomic model of a corn 

dry-grind ethanol production process. The model is not intended to replicate a specific existing fuel 

ethanol plant, but rather to model the processing steps and unit operations typical of most corn-based dry 

mill ethanol facilities. In this project, the USDA model was also modified to assess the impact of 

replacing the beer column with MSE technology.

The NREL and 3M team found that MSE technology reduced energy requirements for ethanol recovery 

compared to the conventional distillation. The most significant reduction was attributed to eliminating the 

beer column, which is the most energy-intensive unit operation in the process. MSE technology was also 

found to reduce cooling demands compared to conventional distillation. 
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This report is available at no cost from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) at www.nrel.gov/publications.

Subject Inventions Listing: None

Report Date: March 11, 2014

Responsible Technical Contact at Alliance/NREL: Dan Schell

This document contains NO confidential, protectable, or proprietary information.